That naked skinny dipping scene in Victoria was harder to film than you’d think

Jumping naked into a freezing lake while a whole camera crew stands around watching must be pretty terrifying – but the stars of Victoria had no other choice.

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Leo Suter and Jordan Waller, who play Edward Drummond and Lord Alfred Paget, have revealed quite how difficult it was to film that skinny dipping scene we saw when the would-be lovers dived in after naturist Prince Albert.

Two problems: the water was freezing, and also really bad for their self-esteem.

Speaking during a BUILD Series interview, Leo explained: “They gave us these flesh-coloured things from here [the waist] down, which were meant to preserve our modesty but they turned fluorescent orange underwater.

“So the director came to us and said, ‘I’m really sorry but the wetsuits aren’t working so there’s kind of only one option’.”

That option was total nudity. “So we kept our dressing gowns on to the last, got into the water, it was freezing cold, you’re only allowed in it two minutes for hypothermic reasons and that was soul-destroying.

“It was like being in a colosseum because the way the pond worked, there were 200 people in the crew above, looking down on you going, where is it exactly?

“And then you emerge from the water and it has disappeared. It’s shrivelled into non-existence.”

But Jordan was less concerned. “Speak for yourself darling! I really wasn’t embarrassed by that, I was loving it,” he joked. “No, it was tough. Only because it was so, so cold.

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“My body temperature dropped and I don’t think I was allowed back in because I was [shaking]. But it wasn’t embarrassing, it was more Ray Mears than embarrassing.”